Healthy diet costs double for poor families

By Natasha Wallace HEALTH

December 9, 2009 — 12.00am

A HEALTHY diet would cost 40 per cent of the disposable income of a welfare-dependent family, twice as much as for those on an average income, a study published today says.

The findings provide an impetus for the Federal Government to accept the recommendations of its Preventative Health Taskforce for a review of a so-called fat tax on foods high in fat and sugar, as well as subsidies for low-income families to buy healthy food.

The study, published in The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, says it costs a typical family of four $239 a week, including $99 for fruit and vegetables, to buy enough food for a balanced, healthy diet. The cost was reduced to $207 if generic brands were used.

The study is based on a seven-day meal plan devised in line with public health recommendations.

A welfare-dependent family of four would spend nearly half of its total weekly income on the healthy meal plan (44 per cent or 38 per cent using generic brands), compared with 18 per cent for an average-income family (16 per cent with generic brands).

The findings are significant because the incidence of nutrition-related chronic disease is rising and a healthy diet high in fibre, vegetables and fruit protects against this.

The convener of the food and nutrition special interest group of the Public Health Association, Andrea Begley, said she supported a food tax and subsidies for lower-income families, particularly given rising obesity rates among lower socio-economic groups.